Live it up! in Singapore

Where Dreams Are Everyday Realities

Wouldn’t you expect your dream indulgence to ‘break the bank’? Well, not in Singapore. Holiday dreams are everyday realities in New Asia - Singapore. No matter what visitors dream – there is something for everyone. Whether it’s the arts, shopping, food or entertainment, or even something a bit more unusual, Singapore offers a treasure trove of experiences and lifestyles – and all at affordable prices. And, to top off even the best dream, everything is set against one of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan backdrops in the world – the Singapore city-scape.

Eat & Party the Night Away
Every Singaporean will tell you that the fun begins with food. Whether it’s a truly gastronomic experience at the table of a world renowned Masterchef, a 10-course Chinese fusion dinner, toast and coconut jam (a local favourite known as kaya), or a chilli crab you can really get your fingers into – Singapore has the food for everyone’s tastes.

The fun continues for those who want to live it up all night long. From riverside pubs with live music at Boat Quay, to wine and cigar bars in old restored shophouses along Clarke Quay, to the techno-funk dance clubs and eclectic bars of Mohamad Sultan Road, and of course, karaoke – there is little time left for sleeping.

The best news is that many of the local food vendors stay open all night long – so you can finish the evening the same way you started – perhaps with a mee goreng or fiery fish-head at 3 am! Now that is living it up.

Experience a World of Arts & Entertainment
For those that dream of a place where they can surround themselves with art and entertainment Singapore is just the place to live it up. A year-round arts and entertainment calendar packed with both traditional and modern performances from around Asia and the world ensures there is never a spare moment.

From antique auctions to Asian dance; from European ballet to tribal music; from the masters of the Renaissance to the new age experimentalists; from the galleries to the sidewalks; art exists around every corner and at every level.

The annual island-wide explosion of arts and entertainment - the Singapore Arts Festival - combines several events into a month-long arts extravaganza. But all year round, the epicentre of the arts scene in Singapore is the Civic District downtown. There you will find the Singapore Art Museum, renowned for its fine collection of Singaporean and South East Asian Art as well as the Victoria Theatre, a national monument and major performing venue.

Surround Yourself with Nature
The city skyline may be Singapore’s signature, but if your idea of living it up is immersing yourself in a peaceful, natural environment, then you are spoilt for choice in Singapore.

Visitors can start the day with a hike up Bukit Timah Nature Reserve – one of only two tropical rainforests in the world to be found in a city - or a jog in the lush greenery of MacRitchie Reservoir. Look out for the monkeys though – they are fond of visitors!

Then it’s off to the zoo. Hailed as one of the best open zoos in the world, the Singapore Zoological Gardens is a massive park with streams, rock walls and vegetation as natural barriers. Visitors can walk through one of the world’s largest ecological exhibit - the Fragile Forest – as 2000 butterflies dance above your head and mousedeer rustle in the undergrowth. Or have lunch with a mother Orangutan and her baby. They are always happy to have guests.

Not too far away, is the world’s first and only nocturnal animal zoo – the Night Safari. Stalk a cheetah or follow the one horned rhinoceros on his evening walk.

For nature in her sprawling glory, a visit to the 87-hectare Sungei Buloh Nature Park reveals some of Singapore’s best preserved natural landscapes and mangrove swamp ecology. Here, you can enjoy the peace and tranquility and observe the tree–climbing crabs, dragon-like monitor lizards and more than 120 species of local and migratory birds from as far north as Siberia. And if you missed sighting some of the rare birds, there is always the Jurong BirdPark.

The day would not be complete without a romantic candlelight dinner at the Botanic Gardens, followed by a moonlit stroll through the flowerbeds.

Visitors can even take a little of the natural magic home with them. At the orchid gardens you can cut your own orchids for packing and shipping home. Or if you like one that lasts forever, pick up a bloom dipped in gold.

Steep Yourself In Local Cultures
For those that dream of experiencing an exotic blend of cultures, each steeped in its own rich traditions, then Singapore offers more than anywhere else.

Live it up with the carnival vibrance of the Chingay parade, which marks the end of the Chinese New Year; plunge into the night markets which are part of the Muslim Hari Raya celebrations in December; and, watch the death-defying feats of Hindu devotees as they walk barefoot on red hot embers as a show of faith during the Thimithi festival in October.

At any time of year, a visit to Chinatown, Little India or Arab Street will deliver a wealth of opportunities to soak up the local ethnic cultures and to bag a range of unique gifts for friends back home – from batiks to Chinese wooden clogs, jasmine garlands and silk saris.

Singapore’s ethnic quarters promise a unique experience around ever corner. Visit the shops along Jalan Pisang to learn more about your birthstone and other precious gems; select from some of the finest fabrics from all over the world in Arab Street; visit the temples of Waterloo Street where Hindu and Buddhist worshippers converge for religious reflection; or have your fortune told by an Indian fortune teller and his “psychic” parrot in Little India.

Shop Till You Drop
Shop, shop, shop till you drop. Singapore’s fantastic Orchard Road belt is the place to catch the latest and the best in high fashion. Indeed visitors and locals alike have turned shopping into a national past time. Orchard Road is the local version of Fifth Avenue or Oxford Street or Rodeo Drive – the epicentre of fine living that is the place to see and be seen...

For many holiday makers, this is the stuff of dreams – row upon row of designer stores, each with a superb collection of the latest from Milan, Paris, London, New York and Tokyo.

Equally, the glitzy malls at Suntec City or Raffles City offer many enjoyable shopping experiences.

For a truly local way to shop, check out Singapore’s satellite towns where residents throng the suburban malls in the housing estates of Bishan, Yishun or Tampines. Or charming Holland Village which has grown over the years and exudes its own type of charm. It is a place where you can find everything – from great prices on electrical goods, to ethnic clothing and art, furniture and fabric, and an array of great restaurants.

Every suburb has its own personality – so don’t be shy about venturing out to Singapore’s suburbs and discover where the locals get some of the great buys...

And, if it all gets too much, a wide array of alfresco cafes are just the place to put up your bags, rest your feet and watch the world go by as you sip your latte.

Explore the Region from Singapore
The Lion City is ideally located as the gateway to regional countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei and Thailand. Whether they are world-class dive spots, luxurious beach resorts or heritage sites, all are easily reached via plane, ferry, train, or even coach within minutes. In fact, how you get there could be an experience itself – take your pick from the luxury liners that call at regional ports or the romance of the Eastern & Orient Express train that plies Singapore to Thailand.

Or Try Something a Little Unusual
Perhaps your idea of living it up is to try something a little unusual that you couldn’t do at home. If that is the case, Singapore has the answer.

Align your energy points with early morning taichi at the Botanic Gardens

Roller blade your way to a seafood lunch at Pasir Ris Park

Dine in a floating bubble in a cable car to Sentosa

Take tea in a traditional ceremony in a Peranakan shophouse

Lunch with the pink feathered friends at “The lodge on Flamingo Lake” at Jurong BirdPark.

Go wakeboarding and spin around the waters of Singapore

Sign up for cooking classes at the Raffles Culinary Academy

Have your aura photographed at Fu Lu Shou Complex

Sail the high seas on a luxury cruise, or a Chinese junk

Relax with a seaweed wrap and a herbal tea at your favourite spa

… and much, much more. As they say, you are limited only by your imagination.

Live it up! encourages visitors to let their imaginations run wild and make their dreams a reality in Singapore. Broadly organised into five themes, this new campaign highlights Singapore’s attractiveness as a City of Diverse Cultures, The Garden City, The Fun City, City for the Arts and The Gateway City.

Live it up! builds on the momentum started up by MillenniaMania over the lead up to the new millennium. MillenniaMania shows that Singapore is a great place to have fun. Live it up! takes the concept one step further by showing the myriad of ways that visitors can live it up in Singapore.

For the next two and a half years, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will launch a range of marketing and promotional campaigns to show how easy it is to create any type of dream holiday in Singapore, by revealing many of Singapore’s hidden charms and combining them in new and different ways. The only limit is your imagination.